Comments on: Exposure: A Fargo / Moorhead Men’s Survey http://believersfellowshipchurch.org/blog/exposure-a-fargo-moorhead-mens-survey/ A place where God is seen, love is felt, and lives are changed Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:21:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Pastor Joe http://believersfellowshipchurch.org/blog/exposure-a-fargo-moorhead-mens-survey/#comment-12 Pastor Joe Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:46:24 +0000 http://believersfellowshipchurch.org/blog/exposure-a-fargo-moorhead-mens-survey/#comment-12 Donovan, perhaps the toughest part of Exposure is being willing to be exposed to ourselves; by the same token, it is probably the most rewarding when we let God change what He must, and celebrate the good He's already done in us. Donovan, perhaps the toughest part of Exposure is being willing to be exposed to ourselves; by the same token, it is probably the most rewarding when we let God change what He must, and celebrate the good He’s already done in us.

]]> By: Donovan http://believersfellowshipchurch.org/blog/exposure-a-fargo-moorhead-mens-survey/#comment-11 Donovan Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:22:35 +0000 http://believersfellowshipchurch.org/blog/exposure-a-fargo-moorhead-mens-survey/#comment-11 In a day when masculinity is shunned for the sake of "equality", we NEED Exposure! At first, I struggled a bit with the title and its attraction (or lack thereof) to men. However, when I ponder a little longer, I realize it depicts exactly what men need in this day and age. We NEED Exposure! 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. As a child, it's easy to walk in fear of the "unknown"... afraid of the dark; afraid of the bully; afraid of being wrong; afraid of disappointment; afraid of rejection... but as a man, we should be discerning enough to know we no longer have to walk in this fear because being created in God's image, "What can man do to me?" This is a strange irony; God created man in his image but man stunts his own spiritual development by failing to leave the cocoon of childhood and become the real man that God intended him to be. Internal and external forces of our childhood from genetics and family, to culture and environments, to experiences provide convenient pulls to stiffen the breakthrough to manhood. God’s image occurs in manhood and not in childhood. What does all of this have to do with Exposure? There will be fun and fellowship for sure, but there will also be points in time when we will have to face ourselves and truthfully ask the question, am I really a man, or just a grown-up child? This can come in the activities (will we shy from the unfamiliar, or bravely take it on?) or times of introspection. Either way, I definitely will be there and see if I'm up to the challenge. If not, I'll get there along the way! In a day when masculinity is shunned for the sake of “equality”, we NEED Exposure! At first, I struggled a bit with the title and its attraction (or lack thereof) to men. However, when I ponder a little longer, I realize it depicts exactly what men need in this day and age. We NEED Exposure!

1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

As a child, it’s easy to walk in fear of the “unknown”… afraid of the dark; afraid of the bully; afraid of being wrong; afraid of disappointment; afraid of rejection…
but as a man, we should be discerning enough to know we no longer have to walk in this fear because being created in God’s image, “What can man do to me?”

This is a strange irony; God created man in his image but man stunts his own spiritual development by failing to leave the cocoon of childhood and become the real man that God intended him to be. Internal and external forces of our childhood from genetics and family, to culture and environments, to experiences provide convenient pulls to stiffen the breakthrough to manhood. God’s image occurs in manhood and not in childhood.

What does all of this have to do with Exposure? There will be fun and fellowship for sure, but there will also be points in time when we will have to face ourselves and truthfully ask the question, am I really a man, or just a grown-up child? This can come in the activities (will we shy from the unfamiliar, or bravely take it on?) or times of introspection. Either way, I definitely will be there and see if I’m up to the challenge. If not, I’ll get there along the way!

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